Arthur Jafa talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work.
Arthur Jafa's work in film, sculpture and installation explores Black being with an unflinching eye for systemic and historic inequity and violence and an exuberant harnessing of disparate manifestations of Black—and particularly African American—culture. Jafa has only garnered major art world attention in the past decade, but in that time he has been prolific in creating landmark works that have shocked, stirred and moved his audiences, including Love is the Message, the Message is Death (2016), The White Album (2018) and his latest film, BG (2024, formerly known as *****), which reimagines the climactic scenes in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver.
Arthur Jafa Love is the Message, The Message is Death, 2016. Film Still. © Arthur Jafa
Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery
He discusses how, when he was a child, he was profoundly affected by seeing James Brown in concert and reading Jack Kirby’s creations for Marvel Comics. He explains how he feels inspired and challenged by Anne Imhof’s work, and how Jean-Michel Basquiat is an ongoing point of reference. He also describes the sheer power of seeing another transformative performance as a child: Mahalia Jackson singing in a Mississippi church. Plus, he gives insight into his life in the studio and answers our usual questions, including the ultimate: what is art for?
Arthur Jafa, Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles, 14 September-14 December; Arthur Jafa: Works from the MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, until 2 March 2025; Arthur Jafa, Galerie Champ Lacombe, Biarritz, France, until 5 September.
Arthur Jafa, The White Album, 2018. Film Still. © Arthur Jafa
Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery
This podcast is sponsored by Bloomberg Connects, the arts and culture app.
The free app offers access to a vast range of international cultural organisations through a single download, with new guides being added regularly. They include numerous museums and galleries that have shown and collected the work of Arthur Jafa, from MOCA in Los Angeles and MCA Denver in the US, to the Serpentine in London and LUMA Arles in France. Download Bloomberg Connects and you will see that the guide to LUMA Arles has features on its extensive programme, with content exploring what’s on in the Frank Gehry-designed tower and the park surrounding it. It includes content on works by former guests on this podcast, including William Kentridge, Helen Marten and Philippe Parreno. In the section on the 2022 exhibition programme, you can watch Arthur Jafa discussing his exhibition at LUMA, Live Evil.